Exam (elaborations)
Lecture notes on Criminal Law
- Module
- Criminal Law (M100)
- Institution
- Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU)
Lecture notes on Criminal law
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Lecture 1The criminal justice system
Key Act’s and Guidance:
● Criminal Procedure rules 2015 (2020 will replace 5th October 2020)
● Magistrates Court Act 1980
● Crime and Disorder Act 1998
Theory
Packer (1964) Two Models of the Criminal Process
● Crime Control Model
Assembly law
● Duo Process Model
Obstacle course
● Neither is correct but allows us to think of the process in critical terms
Structure of the criminal Trial Courts
Magistrates Court
● Deals with more minor crime (and approx 90% of all cases are dealt with
here)
● Judges are lay representatives, volunteers from the local community with no
necessity for legal training
Although district judges also adjudicate in the magistrates court, they are
legally trained and have significant practice experience.
● Legal expertise comes from the Justices’ Clerk and Assistant Justices’ Clerk
● Decide on matters of law and fact
● Maximum sentencing power for a single offence is 6 months imprisonment (12
months if passing a concurrent sentence for 2 or more offences what are
triable either way)
● Approx 375,000 cases per year
Crown Court
● Deals with more serious crime (murder, manslaughter, rape and many more)
● Judges are professional lawyers (either full time or part time judges) with
significant experience
● Judges decide on matters of law, juries on matter of fact
● A jury trial is quite a rare thing
● Approx 28,000 per year
Mode of Trial
Statute or common law determine the appropriate place for a trial to take place
All offences are categorised as either Summary, Triable either way or indictable.
Summary Offences
, ● These cases are the more minor cases and are tried in the Magistrates Court
(they never go to the Crown Court other than an appeal). The maximum
penalty for a summary offence is 6 months imprisonment.
Triable Either Way
● This is the most complex category. These are cases that can be tried in the
magistrates court or the crown court, there is an element of choice for a
defendant if the magistrates believe they can try the matter than the
defendant can opt for a crown court trial. If the magistrates believe they don’t
have the sentencing power or the case is too serious the case is transferred
to the crown court without any say on the part of the defendant.
Indictable
● These are the most serious cases (generally) and are tried in front of a judge
and jury, /murder, Manslaughter, GBH, Rape are some examples of indictable
only offences.
How to spot the type of offence
Statute:
“Summarily only” or “when tried summarily” = summary only offence
“When tried in the magistrates court… when tried in the crown court” or “an either
way offence” = triable either way offence
“Triable on indictment” “indictable only” = indictable offence
Actors in the criminal justice process
Crown Prosecution service
● The chief prosecuting agency in the criminal justice system and they
prosecute most cases in the criminal courts (with the exception of regulatory
offences such as health and safety breaches.)
Defence
● Solicitor: is like the GP at legal practice they represent defendants when
arrested (either privately or through the duty solicitor scheme). In most
magistrates court cases a defendant will only be represented by a solicitor.
● Barrister: A specialist advocate skilled in presenting cases in court, they will
typically represent defendants accused at the Crown Court of indictable or
either way offences.
Justices Clerk (Magistrates Court)
● A legal adviser for the magistracy, the legal adviser, as the name suggests
advises on matters of law (not fact!).
Magistrates Court
● Magistrates- This a lay member of the local community (lay means they do
not require and are not recruited on the basis of the legal knowledge), they do
not receive a salary.
● District judge- Previously known as a Stipendiary Magistrate - these are
professional lawyers with at least 5 years post qualification experience.
, Crown Court
● Circuit Judge- A professional judge with higher right of audience and 10 years
post qualification experience. They are full time salaried roles and typically
deal with the more complex and serious cases.
● recorder - A part time judge who is legally qualified with higher rates of
audience and must sit at least 30 days.
“Victim” v “Complainant”
A typical criminal case - summary
1. Arrest
2. Police bail
3. Charge and Requisition issued
4. Plea and Pre- Trial Hearing (Bail)
5. Not - Guilty Plea
6. Trial
7. Verdict
8. Sentence (either straight away if minor, or following PSR if more serious)
Bail
An essential part of the criminal justice process
Determines whether a suspected offender spends time on remand (in prison) or in
the community
Bail Act 1976 (main statute)
● Post Charge Bail (police bail dealt with separately but not studied on this
course)
● Presumption in favour of bail in most cases
No presumption- Murder (Attempted), Rape, Manslaughter, Certain Sexual
Offences
● Rebuttable if
Would fail to surrender
Commit an offence on bail
Interfere with a witness
● Almost all cases start in the magistrates court however bail applications for
murder are not heard in Mags Court and must be determined by a Crown
Court Judge, following Weddell Case (see Criminal Justice Act 2009, Section
115 (6)).
A trial
Procedure at trial (Procedure in Court - Rule 24.3 (2015))
● Prosecution Opens the case, Defence may be invited to Offer points of
contention.
● Defence No case to answer at close of prosecution case (R v Galbraith
[1981] )
● If d if unsuccessful, D prevents Case
● Closing Statements Prosecution then Defence
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